Shootings Skyrocketed Amid Chicago's Extreme Gun Control

The ongoing tragedy of gun violence topped headlines in Chicago as 2016 came to a close.

Chicago's extremely strict gun laws did little to curb the violence, as shootings jumped by 57 percent from the previous year.

The numbers are staggering, with 3,550 shooting incidents in Chicago, including 762 homicides, according to the Associated Press. 

The number of deaths added up to two murders per day, which is the most killings the city has seen for two decades, and more than Los Angeles and New York City combined. 

The city also saw 1,100 more shooting incidents than in 2015, according to the statistics released by the Chicago Police Department. 

The increase in killings in 2016 is the largest spike in 60 years. 

On New Year's Eve hundreds of people walked down Michigan Avenue carrying crosses with names of each victim, according to the Chicago Tribune. 

And the pastor of Chicago's Restoration Church put up crosses to honor the many victims of gun violence in the city.

"Repeat gun offenders, emboldened by the national climate toward law enforcement and willing to test the limits of our criminal justice system have exacerbated the violence," Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a news conference Sunday.

Former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the rise in violence was in part due to the Black Lives Matter movement.